Robot controller, simple installation-type robot, and method of controlling simple installation-type robot

ABSTRACT

A robot includes an angular velocity sensor that detects the vibration of a robot. A control device allows the robot to perform a trial operation and acquires the measurement result measured by the angular velocity sensor during the trial operation as vibration information and analyzes the acquired vibration information based on maker evaluating information that is stored in a database. In the maker evaluating information, vibration information and the operating speed appropriate to the installation situation of the robot at which the vibration information is measured are associated with each other. Then, the robot is operated at an operating speed selected based on the analysis result of the vibration information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation patent application of U.S. application Ser. No.13/457,873 filed Apr. 27, 2012 which claims priority to Japanese PatentApplication No. 2011-101360, filed Apr. 28, 2011, all of which areexpressly incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a robot controller that controls theoperation of a robot mounted in a moving device, a simpleinstallation-type robot in which the robot controller and a robot aremounted in a moving device, and a method of controlling the simpleinstallation-type robot.

2. Related Art

Recently, in manufacturing industries, the movement toward automatingthe works performed by a worker for a work target by introducing a robotincluding a multi-joint arm to an assembly line has been brisk. Inaddition, high-mix low-volume production and shortening of the productcycle have progressed, and robots are frequently relocated according tocorresponding recombination of production lines corresponding thereto.

In JP-A-2010-64198, for easy implementation of the relocation of arobot, a simple installation-type robot is disclosed in which a robotand a controller of the robot are mounted on a carriage to which castersand adjuster feet are installed. This simple installation-type robot issimply fixed to a floor surface by separating the caster from the floorsurface by using the adjuster foot, and accordingly, the work positionof the robot may be displaced due to an inertial force due to theoperation of the robot or the like. Accordingly, in JP-A-2010-64198, atechnique has been also disclosed for automatically returning the simpleinstallation-type robot to the initial work position when the workposition of the robot is displaced.

The drag force applied against the inertial force according to theoperation of the robot includes a force due to the rigidity of thehousing of the robot and a force received from the floor surface throughthe adjuster foot. Accordingly, depending on the installation situationsof the simple installation-type robot, such as a case where the rigidityof the floor surface is low or a case where a vibration source ispresent on the periphery of the installation location, the drag forcereceived from the floor surface is not stable, and the above-describedpositional displacement may easily occur. In JP-A-2010-64198, althoughthe work position of the robot can be returned to the initial workposition, there is no change in the control state of the movement of therobot before and after returning to the initial work position, andaccordingly, the positional displacement and the returning to theinitial work position are repeatedly performed.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides arobot controller that can change the operating speed of a robot mountedin a moving device in accordance with the situation in which the robotis installed, a simple installation-type robot in which the robotcontroller and a robot are mounted in a moving device, and a method ofcontrolling the simple installation-type robot.

An aspect of the invention is directed to a robot controller thatcontrols an operation of a robot mounted in a moving device. The robotcontroller includes: a trial operation performing unit that allows therobot to perform a predetermined trial operation; an input unit to whichthe magnitude of vibration occurring in the robot is input from avibration measuring unit disposed in the robot; a storage unit in whichoperating speed information that associates the magnitude of thevibration and an operating speed appropriate to the vibration with eachother in advance is stored; an operating speed output unit that outputsthe operating speed according to a measurement result based on themeasurement result measured by the vibration measuring unit in the trialoperation and the operating speed information; and a processingoperation performing unit that allows the robot to perform a processingoperation at the operating speed output by the operating speed outputunit.

According to the above-described robot controller, based on themeasurement result measured by the vibration measuring unit during thetrial operation and the operating speed information stored in thestorage unit, an operating speed that is appropriate to the vibrationoccurring due to the trial operation, in other words, an operating speedthat is appropriate to the situation in which the robot is installed isoutput from the operating speed output unit. Then, a processingoperation performed by the robot is performed at the operating speedoutput by the operating speed output unit. As a result, the robot can beoperated at the operating speed that is appropriate to the situation inwhich the robot is installed.

It is preferable that the above-described robot controller furtherincludes an operation unit to which the operating speed of one operationmode selected by a user out of the operating speeds of the operationmodes that are output by the operating speed output unit is input,wherein the storage unit stores a plurality of sets of the operatingspeed information that are different from one another and are associatedwith a plurality of mutually-different operation modes, the operatingspeed output unit outputs a plurality of operating speeds according tothe measurement result measured by the vibration measuring unit for eachof the plurality of operation modes, and the processing operationperforming unit operates the robot at the operating speed selected bythe user.

According to the above-described robot controller, operating speedscorresponding to a plurality of operation modes are output. Accordingly,as an operation mode that can be selected, for example, an operationmode in which the operating speed is relative low can be output in acase where the work precision has high priority over the work time. Inaddition, an operation mode in which the operating speed is relativelyhigh can be output, for example, in a case where the work time has highpriority over the work precision. As a result, the robot can be operatedat an operating speed selected by a user through the operation unit. Itis preferable that the robot controller further includes a work timecalculating unit that calculates a work time according to the operatingspeeds output by the operating speed output unit for each of theplurality of operation modes, wherein the operating speed output unitoutputs the operating speed according to the measurement result measuredby the vibration measuring unit and the work time calculated by the worktime calculating unit in association with each other.

According to the above-described robot controller, since the work timefor each operation mode is calculated, in a case where the operationmode is selected by the user, the user can select the operation modebased on more information.

In the above-described robot controller, it is preferable that the trialoperation is configured by an operation period during which apredetermined operation is allowed to the robot and a maintaining periodduring which the robot is maintained in a predetermined postureimmediately after the operation period, and the measurement result isthe magnitude of the vibration of the robot during the maintainingperiod.

According to the above-described robot controller, after the robot isallowed to perform a predetermined operation, the vibration measured bythe vibration measuring unit during the period in which the robot ismaintained to be in a predetermined posture is configured as themeasurement result. As a result, the attenuated form of the vibrationoccurring in the robot is included in the measurement result of thevibration measuring unit, whereby the measurement result on which theinstallation situation of the robot is further reflected can beacquired. Another aspect of the invention is directed to a simpleinstallation-type robot in which a robot and a robot controllercontrolling the robot are mounted in a moving device, wherein the robotcontroller is the above-described robot controller. According to theabove-described simple installation-type robot, the same advantages asthose of the above-described robot controller can be acquired.

In the above-described simple installation-type robot, it is preferablethat the robot includes: a base unit that is fixed to the moving device;a first movable unit that is connected to the base unit; and a secondmovable unit that is connected to the base unit through the firstmovable unit, and the vibration measuring unit is installed to the firstmovable unit.

Here, the vibration occurring in the second movable unit may bevibration acquired by amplifying the vibration occurring in the baseunit by using the joint mechanism connecting the base unit and the firstmovable unit together and the joint mechanism connecting the firstmovable unit and the second movable unit. Accordingly, in a case wherethe vibration measuring unit is disposed in the second movable unit,vibration larger than that of the base unit is measured by the vibrationmeasuring unit through the amplification actions of the joint mechanismsand, whereby there is a concern that the installation situation that isbased on the measurement result is markedly different from the actualinstallation situation. From this point, in the above-describedconfiguration, the vibration measuring unit is disposed in the firstmovable unit that is connected to the base unit, and accordingly, thevibration for which the amplification action through the joint mechanismis suppressed can be measured. As a result, the vibration according tothe situation in which the simple installation-type robot is actuallydisposed can be measured.

In the above-described simple installation-type robot, it is preferablethat the vibration measuring unit is an angular velocity sensor.

More specifically, as examples of the vibration measuring unit thatmeasures vibration other than the angular velocity sensor, there are adisplacement sensor, a visual sensor, and the like. However, in a casewhere the vibration measuring unit is configured by the displacementsensor or the visual sensor, a target object that is used as a referencefor measuring the vibration is additionally required for such sensors,and the vibration cannot be measured by only using the displacementsensor or the visual sensor. On the other hand, the angular velocitysensor can measure the vibration even in a case where is no targetobject used as a reference when the vibration is measured. In otherwords, according to the above-described configuration, the vibrationmeasuring unit that measures the vibration of the robot may have arelatively simple configuration.

Still another aspect of the invention is directed to a method ofcontrolling a simple installation-type robot in which a robot and arobot controller controlling the robot are mounted in a moving device.The method includes: allowing the robot to perform a predetermined trialoperation; measuring the magnitude of vibration of the robot during thetrial operation by using a vibration measuring unit that is disposed inthe robot and measures the magnitude of the vibration of the robot;outputting an operating speed according to the measurement result basedon the measurement result measured by the vibration measuring unit andoperating speed information that associates the magnitude of thevibration and the operating speed appropriate to the vibration with eachother in advance; and allowing the robot to perform a processingoperation at the output operating speed. According to theabove-described method of controlling a simple installation-type robot,based on the measurement result measured by the vibration measuring unitduring the trial operation and the operating speed information thatassociates the magnitude of the vibration and the operating speed thatis appropriate to the vibration with each other in advance, the robotcan be allowed to perform a processing operation at an operating speedoutput in accordance with the measurement result, in other word, at anoperating speed that is appropriate to the situation in which the robotis installed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of asimple installation-type robot according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a side structure of the robot.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of asimple installation-type robot based on the functions.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a makerevaluating information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the sequence of an operation startingprocess.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the sequence of an environment detectingprocess.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a display formof analysis information.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a robot controller, an easy installation-type robot, and amethod of controlling the simple installation-type robot according toembodiments of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1to 7.

First, a schematic configuration of the simple installation-type robotwill be described with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, thesimple installation-type robot 10 includes a carriage 15 as a movingdevice in which casters 12 and adjuster feet 13 are disposed at thecorners of a support board 11 forming a rectangular shape. A stand 16,to which the robot 20 is fixed, is fixedly disposed on the support board11 of the carriage 15, and a control device 21 configuring a robotcontroller that controls the operation of the robot 20 is disposedinside the stand 16. On the rear side of the stand 16, an input-outputdevice 23 that is electrically connected to the control device andconfigures the robot controller is disposed. The input-output device 23includes an operation unit 24 that is operated by a user and a displayunit 25 that is configured by a liquid crystal screen, outputs varioustypes of information input by a user using the operation unit 24 to thecontrol device 21, and displays various types of information input fromthe control device 21 on the display unit 25.

Next, a schematic configuration of the robot 20 will be described withreference to FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 20 is a multi-jointrobot including a so-called six-axis multi-joint arm, and an arm unit 30is connected to a base unit 28 that is fixedly installed to the stand16. The arm unit 30 is configured by first to fifth arms 31 to 35 and ahand section 36. The first arm 31 as a first movable unit that can berotated around the rotation axis C1 at its center with respect to thebase unit 28 through a joint mechanism 41 is connected to the base unit28. In the first arm 31, an angular velocity sensor 38 that measures theangular velocity of the first arm 31 is disposed as a vibrationmeasuring unit, and the second arm 32 as a second movable unit that canbe rotated around the rotation axis C2 as its center with respect to thefirst arm 31 through a joint mechanism 42 is connected to the first arm31. The third arm 33 that can be rotated around the rotation axis C3 asits center with respect to the second arm 32 through a joint mechanism43 is connected to the second arm 32, and the fourth arm 34 that can berotated around the rotation axis C4 as its center with respect to thethird arm 33 through a joint mechanism 44 is connected to the third arm33. In addition, the fifth arm 35 that can be rotated around therotation axis C5 as its center with respect to the fourth arm 34 througha joint mechanism 45 is connected to the fourth arm 34, and a handsection 36 that can be rotated around the rotation axis C6 as its centerwith respect to the fifth arm 35 is connected to the fifth arm 35through a joint mechanism 46. By driving servo motors mounted in thejoint mechanisms 41 to 46, the arms 31 to 35 and the hand section 36rotate around the rotation axes C1 to C6 as their centers.

After the simple installation-type robot 10 having such a configurationis moved to a predetermined work position, and the casters 12 areseparated from the floor surface by operating the adjuster feet 13,whereby the simple installation-type robot 10 is fixed to the floorsurface in a simple manner. By appropriately driving the servo motorsmounted in the joint mechanisms 41 to 46 by using the control device 21in accordance with a work condition input through the operation unit 24of the input-output device 23 by a user, a work according to the workcondition is performed.

Next, the electrical configuration of the above-described simpleinstallation-type robot 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.As shown in FIG. 3, in the simple installation-type robot 10, theinput-output device 23 and the robot 20 are electrically connected tothe control device 21 that controls the operation of the robot 20.

In the robot 20, various sensors, which are not illustrated in thefigure, other than the angular velocity sensor 38 disposed in the firstarm 31 are also mounted, and detection values detected from the sensorsare input to the control device 21 at a predetermined period. Thecontrol device 21 controls the operation of the robot 20 based oninformation input from the input-output device 23 and the robot 20.

The input-output device 23 includes an operation unit 24 operated by theuser operating and a display unit 25 on which various types ofinformation are displayed. The operation unit 24 is configured by akeyboard in which various input keys are disposed, a teaching pendantthat teaches the operation of the robot 20, and the like. By the useroperating the operation unit 24, work conditions for allowing the robot20 to perform a predetermined work is input, or various types ofinformation displayed on the display unit 25 are selected.

Here, the work conditions represent a series of works performed by therobot 20 for a work target object. In this embodiment, as the workconditions, work scenario information of a work scenario such as thestop position of the hand section 36 including the supplying positionand the discharging position of one work target object and the movementof the hand section at the stop position, area information of anallowable operation area in which the operation of the arm unit 30 isallowed, target object information of the outer shape of the work targetobject, identification information used for identifying the workcondition, and the like are input.

The control device 21 is configured by a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an ASIC, andthe like and includes a control unit 51, a calculation unit 52, and adatabase 53 as a storage unit.

The control unit 51 performs control of the operation of the robot 20,various processes based on various types of information input from theinput-output device 23, the output of various types of informationdisplayed on the display unit 25 of the input-output device 23, giving acalculation instruction to the calculation unit 52, and the like. Thecalculation unit 52 receives a calculation instruction from the controlunit 51 and performs calculations necessary for controlling theoperation of the robot 20 or a calculation used for acquiringinformation to be displayed on the display unit 25. In the database 53,various types of information are stored, and information that isnecessary for various operations performed by the calculation unit 52 isstored in advance.

After the work conditions are input, the control unit 51 performs anoperation initiating process that is a process until the operation ofthe robot 20 is actually started after an operation for starting theoperation of the robot 20 is performed by the user.

In addition, in the operation initiating process, when an operation foroperating the robot 20 at an operating speed that is appropriate to theinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10 isperformed by the user, the control unit 51 performs an environmentdetecting process in which the operating speed of the robot 20 isselected by the user.

In this environment detecting process, the robot 20 is allowed toperform a trial operation, and the vibration information of the robot 20that is a measurement result of the angular velocity sensor 38 duringthe trial operation is acquired. Then, the acquired vibrationinformation is analyzed, and as the result of the analysis, installationinformation that is information on the installation situation of thesimple installation-type robot 10 estimated based on the vibrationinformation, mode information that is information in which operationmode having mutually different operating speeds, which are operationmodes appropriate for the installation situation, and the operatingspeed of each operation mode are associated with each other, andproduction information on the work time required for a series of worksin each operation mode are acquired. Then, the acquired information isdisplayed on the display unit 25, and it is selected by the user whetherone of two operation modes based on the mode information is selected asthe operation mode of the robot 20 by using the various types ofinformation displayed on the display unit 25 as materials for thedetermination or the installation situation of the simpleinstallation-type robot 10 is changed.

Here, the trial operation is an operation that is allowed to beperformed by the robot 20 so as to acquire the information on theinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10 and isconfigured by an operation period during which a predetermined operationis allowed to be performed by the robot and a maintaining period duringwhich the robot 20 is maintained in a predetermined posture immediatelyafter the operation period, in this embodiment.

The control unit 51 includes an input-output information managingsection 55 that manages various types of information, an operationcondition managing section 56, an operation mode managing section 57, ateaching information managing section 58, an operation program managingsection 59, and an analysis information managing section 60. Inaddition, the control unit 51 includes an operation commanding section61 that outputs operation instructing values to the servo motors 48mounted in the joint mechanisms 41 to 46 of the robot 20 at apredetermined control period.

The input-output information managing section 55 manages informationinput to the control unit 51 from the robot 20, the input-output device23, and the calculation unit 52 and information output from the controlunit 51 thereto. For example, when the mode information and theproduction information are acquired in the environment detectingprocess, the input-output information managing section 55 as anoperating speed output unit outputs the information to the input-outputdevice 23 so as to be displayed on the display unit 25.

In addition, the input-output information managing section 55 outputsvarious calculation instructions to the calculation unit 52 togetherwith information necessary for the calculation. For example, when a workcondition of new identification information is input, the input-outputinformation managing section 55 generates a calculation instruction forcalculating the trajectory of the arm unit 30 based on the work scenarioinformation, the area information, and the target object information asoperation conditions of the work condition and outputs the calculationinstruction to the calculation unit 52 together with the operationconditions.

The input-output information managing section 55 as an input unitacquires the measurement result of the angular velocity sensor 38 induring the maintaining period of the trial operation as vibrationinformation that represents the magnitude of the vibration of the robot20. Then, the input-output information managing section 55 generates acalculation instruction for analyzing the installation situation of thesimple installation-type robot 10 based on the acquired vibrationinformation and outputs the calculation instruction to the calculationunit 52 together with the vibration information. When a new operationprogram is generated by the operation program managing section 59 to bedescribed later, the input-output information managing section 55outputs a calculation instruction for calculating a work time requiredwhen the robot 20 is operated in accordance with the operation programto the calculation unit 52.

When a work condition of new identification information is input, theoperation condition managing section 56 stores the operation conditionsof the work condition, in other words, the work scenario information,the area information, and the target object information in associationwith the identification information. By storing the operation conditionin association with the identification information, the operationcondition managing section 56 manages the operation condition as anoperation condition corresponding to the identification information.Then, when the identification information is input, the operationcondition managing section 56 calls an operation condition correspondingthereto. The input-output information managing section 55 outputs thecalled operation condition to the input-output device 23 so as to bedisplayed on the display unit 25.

The operation mode managing section 57 stores the operating speed of theoperation mode actually selected by the user in the environmentdetecting process in association with the identification information ofthe work condition. By storing the operation mode in association withthe identification information of the work condition, the operation modemanaging section 57 manages the identification as a history of theselected operation mode. Then, when the identification information isinput, the operation mode managing section 57 calls an operation modecorresponding thereto. The input-output information managing section 55appropriately outputs the operation mode called based on the inputidentification information as an operation mode selected in the past tothe input-output device 23 so as to be displayed on the display unit 25.

The teaching information managing section 58 stores teachinginformation, in which the trajectory of the arm unit 30 that is used forallowing the robot 20 to perform a work corresponding to the operationcondition is represented, in association with the identificationinformation. By storing the calculation result of the calculation unit52 for the calculation instruction for calculating the trajectory of thearm unit 30 as the teaching information in association with theidentification information, the teaching information managing section 58manages the teaching information as teaching information correspondingto the identification information thereafter. Then, when theidentification information is input, the teaching information managingsection 58 calls the teaching information corresponding thereto.

The operation program managing section 59 stores an operation programthat allows the robot 20 to perform a trial operation. In addition, theoperation program managing section 59 generates operation programs thatimplement the trajectory of the arm unit 30 represented in the teachinginformation at the operating speeds of two operation modes based on themode information that is the result of analyzing the vibrationinformation and stores the generated operation programs in associationwith the identification information. By storing the generated operationprograms in association with the identification information, theoperation program managing section 59 manages the generated operationprograms as a history of the operation programs corresponding to theidentification information thereafter. The operation program managingsection 59, based on the identification information or the informationon the operation mode selected by the user, calls an operation programcorresponding to the information.

The analysis information managing section 60 stores analysis informationas a result of analyzing the vibration information through thecalculation unit 52 in association with the identification information.In other words, the analysis information managing section 60 storesinstallation information on the installation situation of the robot 20as a result of analyzing the vibration information, mode information inwhich two operation modes appropriate to the installation situation andthe operating speeds at the operation modes are associated with eachother, production information relating to the work time required for aseries of works in each operation mode in association with theidentification information. By storing the analysis information inassociation with the identification information, the analysisinformation managing section 60 manages the analysis information as ahistory of the analysis result corresponding to the identificationinformation thereafter. Thus, when identification information is input,the analysis information managing section 60 calls the analysisinformation corresponding thereto. The input-output information managingsection 55 appropriately outputs the analysis information called basedon the input identification information to the input-output device 23and is displayed on the display unit 25.

The operation commanding section 61 generates an operation instructingvalue at a predetermined control period for each servo motor 48 based onan operation program called by the operation program managing section 59and controls the operation instructing value through feedback controlbased on a detected value acquired by an encoder 49 detecting therotation angle of the servo motor 48. The input-output informationmanaging section 55 outputs the operation instructing value generated bythe operation commanding section 61 to each servo motor 48. In otherwords, by operating the robot 20 based on the operation program used forperforming a trial operation, the input-output information managingsection 55 and the operation commanding section 61 serve as a trialoperation performing unit, and, by operating the robot 20 based on theoperation program corresponding to the operation mode selected by theuser, the input-output information managing section 55 and the operationcommanding section 61 serve as a processing operation performing unit.In FIG. 3, only some of a plurality of servo motors 48 and encoders 49are illustrated.

Subsequently, the calculation unit 52 will be described. The calculationunit 52 includes a trajectory generating section 65 that performscalculations corresponding to the calculation instruction transmittedfrom the control unit 51, a work simulating section 66, a vibrationinformation analyzing section 67 that analyzes the vibration informationby referring to various types of information stored in the database 53,and a work time calculating section 68.

The trajectory generating section 65 receives a calculation instructionfor calculating the trajectory of the arm unit 30 based on the operationcondition and calculates the trajectory of the arm unit 30 based on theoperation condition. The trajectory generating section 65 calculates thetrajectory of the arm unit 30 such that the operation condition issatisfied, in other words, such that a part of the arm unit 30 includinga gripped work target object does not deviate from the allowableoperation area when the work represented in the work scenarioinformation is performed by the robot 20. The work simulating section 66checks whether or not the trajectory of the arm unit is within theallowable operation area by performing a simulation of the trajectory ofthe arm unit 30 that is calculated by the trajectory generating section65. Based on the result of the simulation performed by the worksimulating section 66, in a case where the calculated trajectory iswithin the allowable operation area, the trajectory generating section65 outputs the information in which the trajectory is represented to thecontrol unit 51 as teaching information. On the other hand, in a casewhere the calculated trajectory exceeds the allowable operation area,the trajectory generating section 65 calculates the trajectory of thearm unit 30 again.

The vibration information analyzing section 67 receives a calculationinstruction used for analyzing the installation situation of the simpleinstallation-type robot 10 based on the vibration information andanalyzes the vibration information by referring to various types ofinformation stored in the database 53.

Here, the various types of information stored in the database 53 inadvance will be described. In the database 53, ideal vibrationinformation 70 and maker evaluating information 71 are stored.

The ideal vibration information 70 is information in which vibrationinformation acquired when the trial operation is performed by the simpleinstallation-type robot 10 that is under an ideal installationsituation, in which any vibration source is not present on the peripheryof the floor surface having sufficient rigidity, is represented.

The maker evaluating information 71, as shown in FIG. 4, is informationin which each result of comparison between vibration information, forwhich the installation situation is checked in advance, and the idealvibration information is associated with the installation situationchecked in advance. In other words, the vibration information acquiredin the environment detecting process and the ideal vibration informationare compared with each other, and the result of the comparison iscompared with the maker evaluating information 71, whereby theinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10 can beestimated.

In addition, the maker evaluating information 71 is operating speedinformation in which, for each installation situation checked inadvance, upper limit values of the operating speed and the accelerationappropriate to the installation situation are set. In the makerevaluating information 71, a speed priority mode and a precisionpriority mode that are operation modes having different upper limitvalues of the operating speed and the acceleration can be associatedwith each installation situation. In other words, the maker evaluatinginformation 71 is configured by operating speed informationcorresponding to the speed priority mode and operating speed informationcorresponding to the precision priority information. The speed prioritymode is an operation mode in which, in a case where the robot 20 isoperates in a corresponding installation situation, the arm unit 30 isoperated at a relatively high speed in a range in which it is difficultfor the displacement of the simple installation-type robot 10 to occur.In other words, the precision priority mode is an operation mode inwhich, in a case where the robot 20 is operated in a correspondinginstallation situation, the arm unit 30 is operated at a relatively lowspeed in a range in which it is difficult for the displacement of thesimple installation-type robot 10 to occur. In other words, the speedpriority mode is an operation mode in which the work precision isdecreased due to the vibration of the arm unit 30 during an operation inwhich the work time is relatively short. On the other hand, theprecision priority mode is an operation mode in which the work precisionis improved by suppressing the vibration of the arm unit 30 during theoperation in which the work time is relatively long.

In addition, the upper limit values of the operating speed and theoperating acceleration in each operation mode corresponding to eachinstallation situation are set to values based on various experiments,simulations, or the like using the simple installation-type robot 10. Inaddition, the upper limits of the operating speed and the operatingacceleration in the speed priority mode of each installation situationare set such that a higher operating speed and higher operatingacceleration are set as the installation situation is closer to theinstallation situation in which vibration information close to the idealvibration information is acquired. Similarly, the upper limits of theoperating speed and the operating acceleration in the precision prioritymode of each installation situation are set such that a higher operatingspeed and higher operating acceleration are set as the installationsituation is closer to the installation situation in which vibrationinformation close to the ideal vibration information is acquired.

The vibration information analyzing section 67 compares the vibrationinformation input from the control unit 51 and the ideal vibrationinformation 70 stored in the database 53 with each other and estimatesthe installation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10 bycomparing the comparison result with the maker evaluating information 71stored in the database 53. Then, the vibration information analyzingsection 67 outputs the installation information that is information onthe estimated installation situation and the mode informationassociating two operation modes appropriate to the installationsituation and the operating speed in each operation mode with each otherto the control unit 51.

The work time calculating section 68 receives a calculation instructionfor calculating the work time at the time of operating the robot 20 inaccordance with the operation program generated by the operation programmanaging section 59, calculates a work time at the time of operating therobot 20 in accordance with the operation program, and outputsinformation based on the calculation result to the control unit 51 asproduction information.

Next, the sequence of the operation starting process that is a processuntil the operation of the robot 20 is actually started after anoperation for starting the operation of the robot 20 is performed by theuser will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the operation starting process, first, it isdetermined whether or not the operation condition is a newly inputoperation condition based on the identification information of the inputoperation condition (Step S11).

In a case where the input operation condition is a new operationcondition (Step S11: Yes), the process proceeds to Step S16, theenvironment detecting process is performed, and then, the operation ofthe robot 20 is started (Step S17).

On the other hand, in a case where the input operation condition is theoperation condition input in the past (Step S11: No), a displayrepresenting whether or not the environment detecting process isperformed is presented on the display unit 25, and whether or not theenvironment detecting process is performed is input by the user throughthe operation unit 24 (Step S12). In Step S12, in a case where theoperation representing that the environment detecting process isperformed is performed by the user (Step S12: Yes), the process proceedsto Step S16, the environment detecting process is performed, and thenthe operation of the robot 20 is started (Step S17).

On the other hand, in Step S12, in a case where an operationrepresenting that the environment detecting process is not performed isperformed by the user (Step S12: No), the operation mode that waspreviously selected for the identification information is selected asthe operation mode (Step S13). Then, together with information relatingto the operation mode, the operation condition of the identificationinformation and the production information corresponding to theoperation mode are output to the input-output device 23 and aredisplayed on the display unit 25 (Step S14).

Next, in Step S15, whether or not the operation mode is changed is inputthrough the operation unit 24 by the user who has checked the productioninformation and the like displayed on the display unit 25 in Step S14(Step S15).

In Step S15, in a case where the operation for changing the operationmode is performed (Step S15: Yes), the process proceeds to Step S16, theenvironment detecting process is performed, and then, the operation ofthe robot 20 is started (Step S17).

On the other hand, in Step S15, in a case where an operation for notchanging the operation mode is performed (Step S15: No), an operationprogram corresponding to the operation mode that was previously selectedis called, and the operation of the robot 20 is started in accordancewith the operation program (Step S17).

Next, the sequence of the environment detecting process corresponding toStep S16 in the above-described operation starting process will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG. 6, in theenvironment detecting process, first, a trial operation is performed forthe robot 20 (Step S16-1), the vibration information of the robot 20 isacquired based on the measurement result of the angular velocity sensor38 during the trial operation maintaining period (Step S16-2). Next, inStep S16-3, based on the ideal vibration information 70 and the makerevaluating information 71 that are stored in the database 53, acalculation instruction is output to the calculation unit 52 togetherwith various types of information so as to analyze the vibrationinformation acquired in Step S16-2. Then, as the analysis informationthat is the result of the analysis, the installation informationrelating to the installation situation of the simple installation-typerobot 10 and the mode information in which the operation modes that areappropriate to the installation situation and have mutually differentoperating speeds and the operating speed in each operation mode areassociated with other are acquired (Step S16-4).

Next, in Step S16-5, based on the identification information of the workcondition and the acquired mode information, it is determined whether ornot there is an operation program of the operation mode corresponding tothe mode information as a history.

In a case where the operation program is not present as a history inStep S16-5 (Step S16-5: No), an operation program is generated for eachoperation mode based on the operating speed of each operation mode andthe teaching information that are represented in the acquired modeinformation (Step S16-6).

Then, a calculation instruction for calculating the work time for eachoperation mode based on the operation program generated in Step S16-6 isoutput, and the production information that is based on the result ofthe calculation is acquired as the analysis information (Step S16-7).

On the other hand, in a case where the operation program is present asthe history in Step S16-5 (Step S16-5: Yes), since the productioninformation that is based on the operation program is also present asthe history, the Step S16-6 and Step S16-7 are skipped, and the processproceeds to Step S16-8.

Next, in Step S16-8, the mode information and the production informationas the analysis information are output to the input-output device 23 andare displayed on the display unit 25. FIG. 7 shows an example of adisplay form of the analysis information on the display unit 25. Asshown in FIG. 7, the user determines whether or not the installationsituation is changed or one of two operation modes is selected by usingthe displayed information as a determination material.

Next, in Step S16-9, it is determined whether or not the user selectsthe operation mode in accordance with the analysis information displayedon the display unit 25 in Step S16-8. In a case where the operation modeis not selected in Step S16-9 (Step S16-9: No), in other words, in acase where an operation for changing the installation situation of thesimple installation-type robot 10 is performed, when an operation forstarting the operation is performed after the installation situation ischanged, the trial operation of the robot 20 is performed again (StepS16-1).

On the other hand, in a case where the operation mode is selected inStep S16-9 (Step S16-9: Yes), the operation program of the selectedoperation mode is selected (Step S16-10), and a series of processesends.

Next, the operation of the simple installation-type robot 10 having theabove-described configuration will be described. In the above-describedsimple installation-type robot 10, a trial operation for analyzing theinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10 isperformed, and the vibration information is acquired which representsthe magnitude of the vibration of the robot 20 during the trialoperation. Then, the vibration information is analyzed, and theinstallation information relating to the installation situation of thesimple installation-type robot 10, which is estimated based on thevibration information, and the mode information in which operation modesthat are appropriate to the estimated installation situation and havemutually different operating speeds and the operating speed in eachoperation mode are associated with each other are acquired. In addition,the production information relating to each one of the speed prioritymode and the precision priority mode represented in the mode informationis acquired. The acquired information is output to the input-outputdevice 23 and is displayed on the display unit 25. The user determineswhether the robot 20 is operated in one operation mode of the twooperation modes or the installation situation of the simpleinstallation-type robot 10 is changed. Then, in a case where oneoperation mode is selected by the user, the robot 20 is operated at anoperating speed based on the selected operation mode.

According to the control device 21 and the input-output device thatconfigure the robot controller, the simple installation-type robot 10,and the method of controlling the simple installation-type robot 10according to the embodiments, the following advantages can be acquired.

(1) According to the above-described embodiment, the robot 20 can beoperated at an operating speed that is appropriate to the installationsituation of the simple installation-type robot 10. As a result, sincethe robot 20 can be operated at an operating speed according to theinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10, even aworker not having professional knowledge for the relocation of thesimple installation-type robot 10 can relocate the simpleinstallation-type robot 10 in an easy manner.

(2) In addition, in the operating speed that is appropriate to theinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10, thespeed priority mode in which the operating speed is relatively high andthe precision priority mode in which the operating speed is relative lowcan be selected. Accordingly, when the operation time has high priorityover the work precision, the speed priority mode can be selected. On theother hand, when the work precision has high priority over the operationtime, the precision priority mode can be selected. In other words, anoperating speed according to the content of the operation can beselected.

(3) According to the above-described embodiment, production informationrelating to the speed priority mode and the precision priority mode thathave an operating speed that is appropriate to the installationsituation of the simple installation-type robot 10 is output to theinput-output device 23 and is displayed on the display unit 25.Accordingly, the user can select the operation mode based on moreinformation.

(4) According to the above-described embodiment, during the trialoperation that is configured by the operation period and the maintainingperiod, the measurement result acquired by the angular velocity sensor38 during the maintaining period is acquired as the vibrationinformation. Here, in a case where the measurement result acquired bythe angular velocity sensor 38 is acquired as the vibration informationduring the operation period, the vibration relating to the operation ofthe robot 20 is included in the vibration information. From this point,according to the above-described configuration, the vibrationinformation is acquired, which includes the attenuated form of thevibration occurring in the robot 20 during the operation period, as thevibration information. Accordingly, the vibration information on whichinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10 isfurther reflected can be acquired. As a result, the installationsituation of the simple installation-type robot 10 can be determinedmore accurately.

(5) According to the above-described embodiment, the angular velocitysensor 38 is disposed in the first arm 31. Here, for example, thevibration occurring in the second arm 32 may be vibration that isamplified by the joint mechanism 41 connecting the stand 16 and thefirst arm 31 together and the joint mechanism 42 connecting the firstarm 31 and the second arm 32. Accordingly, in a case where the angularvelocity sensor 38 is disposed in the second arm 32, vibration largerthan that of the stand 16 is detected through the amplification actionsof the joint mechanisms 41 and 42, whereby there is a concern that theinstallation situation specified based on the vibration information ismarkedly different from the actual installation situation. From thispoint, in the above-described configuration, the angular velocity sensor38 is disposed in the first arm 31 connected to the base unit 28 that isfixedly installed to the stand 16 through the joint mechanism 41, andaccordingly, the vibration for which the amplification action throughthe joint mechanism is suppressed can be detected. As a result,vibration information that is close to the actual installation situationis acquired, whereby an operating speed that is appropriate to theinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10 can beselected. In addition, since the angular velocity sensor 38 is disposedin the first arm 31, the vibration of the first arm 31 can be controlledto be suppressed based on the measurement value acquired by the angularvelocity sensor 38 during the operation of the robot 20.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the vibration information isacquired based on the measurement value measured by the angular velocitysensor 38. As examples of the sensor detecting the vibration other thanthe angular velocity sensor, there are a displacement sensor, a visualsensor, and the like. However, in a case where the vibration informationis acquired based on the displacement sensor or the visual sensor, atarget object that is used as a reference for measuring the vibration isnecessary, and the vibration cannot be measured by only using thedisplacement sensor or the visual sensor. On the other hand, the angularvelocity sensor 38 can measure the vibration even in a case where is notarget object used as a reference when the vibration is measured. Inother words, according to the above-described configuration, theconfiguration used for measuring the vibration of the robot 20 can besimplified. In addition, the above-described embodiment can be modifiedas follows.

In the environment detecting process according to the above-describedembodiment, the user selects the operation mode of the robot 20 based onthe analysis information displayed on the display unit 25. This may bechanged such that the operation mode to be selected out of the speedpriority mode and the precision priority mode that can be selected basedon the analysis of the vibration information is input in advance, forexample, at the time of inputting the work condition so as toautomatically select the operation mode in the environment detectingprocess.

In the above-described embodiment, the angular velocity sensor is usedas the vibration measuring unit. However, the vibration measuring unitis not limited thereto, and thus, any vibration measuring unit that candetect the vibration of the robot 20 during the trial operation may beused, and, for example, it may be a displacement sensor, a visiblesensor, or an acceleration sensor.

In the above-described embodiment, the angular velocity sensor 38 as thevibration measuring unit is disposed in the first arm 31. However, theinvention is not limited thereto, and the angular velocity sensor 38,for example, may be disposed in the second arm 32 of the robot 20 andmay be disposed in the stand 16 to which the robot 20 is fixed.

In the above-described embodiment, the trial operation performed foracquiring the vibration information is configured by the operationperiod and the maintaining period, and the vibration of the robot 20during the maintaining period is acquired as the vibration information.However, the invention is not limited thereto, and the vibrationinformation may be acquired during a period including the operationperiod and the maintaining period, or the trial operation may beperformed only during the operation period.

In the calculation unit 52 according to the above-described embodiment,although the work time calculating section 68 is disposed whichcalculates the work time at the time of operating the robot 20 in eachoperation mode that can be selected in accordance with the installationsituation, a configuration in which the work time calculating section 68is omitted may be employed.

The maker evaluating information 71 according to the above-describedembodiment, for each installation situation estimated based on thevibration information, are configured by the operating speed informationcorresponding to two operation modes having mutually different operatingspeeds, which are appropriate to the installation situation, that is,the operating speed information corresponding to the speed priority modeand the operating speed information corresponding to the precisionpriority information. However, the invention is not limited thereto, andin a case where the maker evaluating information 71 is configured byoperating speed information corresponding to a plurality of operationmodes having mutually different operating speeds, for example, operatingspeed information corresponding to an operation mode in which theoperating speed is lower than that of the speed priority mode and ishigher than the operating speed of the precision priority mode may befurther included. In addition, the invention is not limited to theplurality of operation modes, and, for example, the maker evaluatinginformation 71 may be configured by only operating speed informationcorresponding to one operation mode, for example, the precision prioritymode for each installation situation estimated based on the vibrationinformation.

In the above-described embodiment, as the analysis information of thevibration information, installation situation improving information maybe included in which a method of improving the installation situation ofthe simple installation-type robot 10 is represented.

In other words, in the database 53, the improving method information isstored in which each installation situation defined in the makerevaluating information 71 is associated with an improving method usedfor allowing the installation situation to approach the ideal situation.The vibration information analyzing section 67 of the calculation unit52 selects an improving method for changing the estimated installationsituation to the ideal installation situation based on the installationsituation of the simple installation-type robot 10 that is estimated inaccordance with the result of comparison between the vibrationinformation and the ideal vibration information and the improving methodinformation stored in the database 53. Then, improvement informationthat is information relating to the selected improving method is outputto the control unit 51. The input-output information managing section 55outputs the improvement information to the input-output device 23 as theanalysis information of the vibration information together with the modeinformation and the production information so as to be displayed on thedisplay unit 25.

According to such a configuration, even in a case where the improvementof the installation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10is selected in Step S16-9 of the environment detecting process shown inFIG. 6, the user can change the installation situation of the simpleinstallation-type robot 10 by referring to the improvement information.Accordingly, a user's effort for searching for an improving method forallowing the installation situation of the simple installation-typerobot 10 to approach the ideal installation situation is not required.

Each of the managing sections 56 to 60 according to the above-describedembodiments may be configured such that corresponding information isstored in the database 53 in association with the identificationinformation, and various types of information are managed by appropriatecalling managed information based on the input identificationinformation. Generally, when an abnormal value is input from varioustypes of sensor, the robot controller stops the operation of the robot20. Such stopping of the operation may be caused by the installationsituation of the simple installation-type robot 10, and, in theabove-described embodiment, when the robot is operated again after theoperation of the robot 20 is stopped, the environment detecting processmay be performed. According to such a configuration, in a case where theinstallation situation of the simple installation-type robot 10 changesduring the operation of the robot 20 such as a case where a vibrationsource is located near the simple installation-type robot 10, and thevibration source is driven during the operation of the robot 20, therobot 20 can be operated at the operating speed according to the changedinstallation situation. In the simple installation-type robot 10according to the above-described embodiment, the multi-joint robothaving one 6-axis arm unit 30 is mounted. However, the invention is notlimited thereto, and as long as the robot mounted in the simpleinstallation-type robot can secure the degree of freedom that isnecessary for the work, the number of axes of the arm unit may be fiveor less or seven or more, and a plurality of arm units may be includedtherein.

1-17. (canceled)
 18. A robot controller that controls an operation of arobot mounted in a moving device, the robot controller comprising: atrial operation performing unit that allows the robot to perform apredetermined trial operation after the robot controller is installed.19. The robot controller according to claim 18, wherein the trialoperation is configured by an operation period during which apredetermined operation is allowed to the robot and a maintaining periodduring which the robot is maintained in a predetermined posture afterthe operation period.
 20. The robot controller according to claim 18,wherein the moving device includes casters and adjuster feet.
 21. Asimple installation-type robot comprising: a robot; a robot controllerthat controls an operation of a robot mounted in a moving device, therobot controller including: a trial operation performing unit thatallows the robot to perform a predetermined trial operation after therobot controller is installed.
 22. The simple installation-type robotaccording to claim 21, wherein the trial operation is configured by anoperation period during which a predetermined operation is allowed tothe robot and a maintaining period during which the robot is maintainedin a predetermined posture after the operation period.
 23. The simpleinstallation-type robot according to claim 4, wherein the moving deviceincludes casters and adjuster feet.
 24. The simple installation-typerobot according to claim 21, wherein the robot includes: a base unitthat is fixed to the moving device; a first movable unit that isconnected to the base unit; and a second movable unit that is connectedto the base unit through the first movable unit.
 25. A method ofcontrolling a simple installation-type robot in which a robot and arobot controller controlling the robot are mounted in a moving device,the method comprising: allowing the robot to perform a predeterminedtrial operation after the robot controller is installed.